Swedish colonial empire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Swedish colonial empire existed from 1638 to 1663 and from 1785 to 1878. The term empire is not official terminology and somewhat controversial given that Sweden's colonial possessions were limited to a few relatively small areas that were never held simultaneously.
The former Swedish colonies are:
- New Sweden (1638-1655; lost to the Dutch)
- Guadeloupe (1813-1814;returned to France)
- Saint-Barthélemy (1785-1878; sold to France)
- Swedish Gold Coast (1650-1663; lost to Denmark and the Dutch), including Cape Coast (1650-1663; ultimately to the Great Britain)
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[edit] In the Americas
[edit] New Sweden
By the middle of the 17th century, the Swedish Empire had reached its greatest territorial extent. The Swedes sought to extend their influence by creating an agricultural (tobacco) and fur trading colony to bypass French, British and Dutch merchants. The charter included Swedish, Dutch and German stockholders. Once they landed they established, Fort Christina (now Wilmington, Delaware), named after Queen Christina of Sweden. Many of the settlers were Finnish; since until 1809 Finland was governed as the eastern third of the kingdom of Sweden.
The settlement was actually an invasion of New Netherland since it was Dutch territory. The first governor, Peter Minuit, died after returning from Stockholm by a hurricane while on the island of St. Christopher in the Caribbean. The colony would establish Fort Nya Elfsborg north of present-day Salem, New Jersey in 1643.
In May 1654 the Dutch fort Casimir was conquered by New Sweden. As a reprisal, the Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant sent an army to the Delaware River, which obtained the surrender of the Swedish forts.
[edit] Antillian possessions
As a result of Sweden's support of France's enemies during the Napoleonic Wars, the island of Guadeloupe was ceded to king Charles XIV John personally, not to his Swedish state.
However a year later the island was given to France by the Treaty of Paris. Sweden then forced a settlement with Great Britain because it had been guaranteed the island which was strategically close to its other Caribbean colony. This led to the Guadeloupe Fund which guaranteed Sweden 24 million francs. Because of how the money was used, Sweden was then given an additional 300,000 Riksdaler under the Riksdag of 1815 every year. The last installment was paid in 1983.
Saint-Barthélemy (1785-1878; sold to France)
[edit] In Africa : Swedish Gold Coast
Sweden temporarily controlled several settlements on the Gold Coast (present Ghana) since 22 April 1650, but lost the last when on 20 April 1663 Fort Carlsborg and the capital Fort Chistiansborg were seized by Denmark.
[edit] Cape Coast
In 1652, the Swedes took Cape Coast (in modern Ghana) which had previously been under the control of the Dutch and before that the Portuguese. Cape Coast was centered around the Carolusburg Castle which was built in 1653 and named after king Charles X Gustav of Sweden but is now known as the Cape Coast Castle.
[edit] The Swedish Atlantic slave trade
During this time the small Swedish slave trade began by however after the fall of New Sweden to the Dutch the slave trade ended. It would later be rejuvenated under Gustav III who would found a Swedish colony on Saint-Barthélemy in 1785 and make the island a center for slave trading. The Swedish West India Company was established on the island in 1786.
[edit] Sources and references
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[edit] See also
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 Swedish empire
American colonies: in North America : New Sweden | Antillian: Saint-Barthélemy & Guadeloupe (1813-1814;returned to France) | |
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 Belgian Empire |  British Empire |  Danish Empire |  Dutch Empire |  Empire of Japan |  French colonial Empire |  German colonial Empire |  Italian Empire |  Portuguese Empire |  Russian Empire |  Spanish Empire | Swedish Empire |  American Empire |
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